Thou Shalt Not
by September Smith
Summary: A young Remy asks a tough question....


** Thou Shalt Not.....******

By September Smith 

The X-men belong to Marvel Comics. I am not making any money off of this.   
  
Continuity: This story is set with Jean Luc having picked Remy off the streets at a very young age- probably 4 or 5. Remy did not pick his pocket- Jean Luc just took pity on a homeless child and brought him home.   


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The little boy sat at his father's feet, his red-on-black eyes full of innocence, waiting for his Pere to begin the lesson. He had just returned from Sunday School. Since his First Communion was coming up, his father wanted to make sure he paid attention in class. Every Sunday when Remy came home, Jean Luc made his adopted son recite what he had learned. Remy had learned the hard way *not* to tease the girls while Father Paul was teaching them.   
  
"Okay fil, what did you learn today,?" Jean-Luc asked. 

"De Commandments, Pere. And guess what, I mem'rized dem all!" the nine year old answered, proud that he could impress his Pere.   
  
"Alright den, what are dey?" 

Remy took a breath, then began. "I am the Lord your God, dou-" "Remy! Say it right, fil," his father corrected him. "Sorry, Pere. D-th-thou shalt not have other gods besides me.   
"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.   
"Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.   
"Honor thy father and mother.   
"Thou shalt not kill.   
"Thou shalt not commit adultery.   
"Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.   
"Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's wife.   
"Thou shalt not covet anything that belongs to thy neighbor.   
"Dere! I membered dem all!" Remy sighed in relief; he'd gotten all the "thous" correct! 

"Bien, son. I'm very proud of you," Jean-Luc smiled. Remy smiled back, but then his face filled with confusion. 

"Pere, I gotta question..."he began, but then hesitated. Sometimes his curiosity got him in trouble, like last week when he had asked how someone got to be a firefighter. Last week he had decided that's what he wanted to be when he grew up, a firefighter. But Pere hadn't liked that idea at all. He'd told him he couldn't be a firefighter, 'cause people'd be afraid of his eyes and stuff, and they wouldn't let him be one, and he'd be much better off being a t'ief like his Pere cause it was his heritage and destiny and.....that's when he'd lost interest and started daydreaming. But it had made him feel kinda bad, what Pere had said 'bout his eyes and people being scared of him. It hurt that Jean-Luc didn't like what he had decided he wanted to do, so he'd let it drop and said he'd rather be a t'ief. But that didn't stop him from sneaking over to the firestation...   
  
"What did you want to ask me, Remy?" Jean-Luc prompted, as his son started to drift.   
  
"Oh, sorry. Um, Pere, last week, last Sunday, um, I was watching de TV, and dis movie came on, and it was called "De Ten Commandments." I changed the channel, but today in school, we only learned nine. What's de 'tenth" one, Pere?"   
  
Jean-Luc didn't answer right away. This was a question he'd hoped he could have avoided answering for awhile. It was a question every thief put off, at least until their children had fully accepted their parents' 'occupation'. And Remy was not ready to do that. Like most thief children his age, Remy did not realize that what his father did for a living, stealing from others, was wrong. Learning the truth at his age could lead to a permanent rejection of the trade.   
  
Seeing his father's pause, Remy continued, feeling braver since his Pere hadn't turned bright red with this question like he had last time, after Remy mentioned that other movie...some movie about dancing with a guy named Patrick Swayze in it. "And Pere, why are there only t'eives at church? I never see anyone else. Dere's gotta be o'der people who go to church, aren't dere?"   
  
Jean-Luc thought a minute, and then address his foster son. "Oui Remy, dere are o'der people who go to Mass; it's just dat it's a tradition for all de t'iefs to go togeder. We all are a family, and Sunday is a time for families. And about dat movie, dat's just Hollywood, de producers gave de movie ten Commandments for effect- the producer liked round numbers. Don't believe everyt'ing you see in de movies, fil," Jean-Luc finished with a smile. He watched as his son's strange eyes went from confusion to acceptance of his answer. It was funny how those mutant eyes could show such emotion at times. Dat would have to change if Remy was goin to survive in dis world.   
  
"I t'ink dat's enough for today, Remy. Why don't you go see if Belle can play, huh?" Jean-Luc added, before Remy could come up with any more questions.   
  
"I'm going over to play 'lockpicks" wit Lapin. Dat's okay?" Remy replied hopefully. He almost always beat Lapin at lockpicks, one of his favorite games.   
  
"Dat's just fine," Jean-Luc smiled.   


The End 


End file.
